My recent departure from South Africa, after three weeks of travel and work, coincided with the arrival in Cape Town of celebrities such as Sharon Stone, Mariah Carey and Robert DeNiro. These, and many other stars from around the world, came together for the grand opening of "Africa's most opulent hotel" – the $100 million development called One&Only Cape Town. One&Only Cape Town is an "oasis of cosmopolitan style establishing an unprecedented level of luxury in South Africa." Upon arriving at the airport guests may transfer to the hotel via taxi, limousine or helicopter. Options for accommodation include rooms in the seven-story hotel or suites on the landscaped islands. All rooms feature amenities such as Nespresso coffee machines, and the "sumptuously appointed oversized baths" offer rain showers.

The hotel's flagship shop, Neo, The Boutique, carries fashion by designers Stella McCartney and Balenciaga. Shoppers can relax at the store's champagne bar or iPod station before dining at one of two restaurants – both created by Michelin-starred chefs.

Back in the room, after a day of spa treatments, shopping and gourmet cuisine, guests may choose their pillow from a selection of pillow offerings and also ask for the "aromatherapy turndown menu." The discreet services of a personal butler are available around the clock to address specific requests. Rates start at $550 for a room during the off-season, to over $5,000 a night for the Presidential Suite during peak tourist times.

As celebrities gathered to toast the opening of this new, luxury hotel, I was making the 25-minute drive from Cape Town to the international airport to catch my return flight to the United States. By car, limo, or even by helicopter, it is impossible not to notice the miles and miles of townships that spread from beyond the airport and into Cape Town.

I had spent much of my time in South Africa in two of these townships – Guguletu and Khayelitsha – home to over one million Xhosa people – most of who live in grinding poverty. Unemployment in these townships may be as high as 65%. The rate of HIV/AIDS is believed to be over 20% of all adults. Tuberculosis is widespread, as is hunger. Thousands stay in informal settlements – shacks constructed of scavenged materials with no electricity or running water.

As I always do on the long flight back home, I thought about some of the people I met on this trip. The refugee from Zimbabwe who didn't have shoes. The six-year-old boy experiencing his second bout with what had become drug-resistant TB. The teen-aged girl who was no longer in school because her HIV-positive mother couldn't pay her school fees. The homeless man with one arm and one leg who leans against his crutch all day outside of the train station in hopes of passer-bys putting a few rand into the Styrofoam cup he holds in his one and only hand.

What I really thought about on this trip home, however, was a sign I saw at a community center in the township of Guguletu. The sign was a quote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi. The sign read: "The world has enough for every man's need, but not enough for every man's greed."

Indeed.